Apparatus for producing gas.



No. 650,697. Patented May 29, I900} c. WHITFIELD.

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING GAS.

(Application filed Dec. 30, 1897.)

(No Model.)

T F'y- ]7 E2 van for.

m: "aims PETERS 0o. moraumu, WASHINGTON, u c,

MN-M CHARLES WHIT IELD, or KETTERING, ENGLAND, ASSIG'NOR ro HIMSELF, ANDJOHN BROKENSHIRE FURNEAUX, or GATESHEAD, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING GAS.

QFECIFTCATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 650,697, dated May 29,1900. Application filed December 30,1897. Serial No. 664,777. (NomocleL)To aZZ whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, CHARLES WHITFIELD, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at Anglezarke, Kettering, in the county ofNorthampton, England, have invented an Apparatus for Making Gas, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object the more complete conversion of solidand liquid by drocarbon compounds into the gaseous state than has beenpossible by the means heretofore in use.

It is well known that when carbonaceous fuel is burned with oxygencarbonic acid is produced, and that when this compound is passed througha mass of incandescent carbon it is converted into carbonic oxid. Whenatmospheric air is used for supplying the oxygen for the combustion ofthe carbonaceous fuel and steam is added, the oxygen and hydrogen ofwhich the latter is composed become dissociated, the oxygen thusliberated combining with some of the carbon, forming an additionalsupply of carbonic oxid. This additional supply of carbonic oxid and thedissociated hydrogen enrich the first products and reduce the percentageof diluent nitrogen in the resultant compound. Owing, however, 'to thecooling effect of the steam and carbonic acid on the incandescentfuel-and to the fact that the conversion of carbonic acid into carbonicoxid can only be completely effected at a temperature of about 1,000Fahrenheit, the amount of steam that can be treated in this way islimited by the amount of sensible heat (produced by the initialcombination of the oxygen of the atmosphere with the carbonaceous fuelon the grate or near the twyers) which is available above thattemperature. Also, as the heavier hydrocarbons are only converted intofixed gases when raised to a temperature somewhat above 1,000 Fahrenheitin contact with a further supply of oxygen or hydrogen, it becomesnecessary to heat the vapors which are given off when the fuel is firstplaced in the generator or producer to or above that temperature. Now myinvention has reference to a construction of generator or producerwhereby vaporized or distilled hydrocarbons produced at the top of thegenerator or producer are combined with a proper quantity of oxygen andhydrogen and are raised to a sufiiciently-high temperature to convertthem into permanent gases.

The cycle of operations consists, first, in raising the fuel to a hightemperature at or near the bottom of the generator or producer byforcing air, either at ordinary temperatures or heated in any suitableway, through the grate or twyers; secondly, in injecting into the fuel,at a point above the zone of combustion where the said fuel is in astateof incandescence and where its temperature is sufficiently high, as muchsteam as the heated fuel will decompose, and, thirdly, in causing thesaid steam to convey the condensable and distillation products ofthefuel into the said incandescent fuel before the gaseous products passoff through the main outlet.

In order to carry out the above-described method, which forms thesubject of a separate application for Letters Patent, I construct agenerator or producer as I shall now describe, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a plan of agenerator or producer according to my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 arevertical sections taken on the lines X X and Y Y, respectively, of Fig.1; and Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken 011 the line Z Z of Fig. 3.Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views to Figs. 3 and 4, respectively, showinga modified construction.

At some clistance--say one or two feetabove the grate or bottom A in thearrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, there is provided a beltB, that extends more or less around the generator and is connected byopenings (3 with the interior of the fuel-space just above the zone ofcombustion. The belt B is connected by a casing B and a pipe or conduitD with the top of the generator, where the fuel is admitted through ahopper F. Into the casing B projects a steam-nozzle E, in such a mannerthat the steam issuing from the nozzle will induce a current of gas toflow from the upper part of the generator to the belt, so that the steamwhich is to be decomposed carries with it the volatile compoundsevaporated or distilled from the fuel at the said upper part of thegenerator. The steamjet may be regulated by hand, or, if preferred,

too

automatically, by any suitable arrangement. The action of the steam-jetcauses products of combustion and the vapors from the fuel in the upperpart of the generator to pass in such a direction and manner as torender it almost impossible for any of the heavier vaporized hydrocarboncompounds to escape to the outlet G, which is placed at some distancesaytwo or three feet-from the top of the generator without first passingthrough a mass of incandescent fuel at II and there becoming decomposedor otherwise fixed.

I is an opening for the admission of air into 7 the closed ash-pit belowthe fire-bars A from a blowing engine or fan; i

J is a sight-hole for viewing the interior of the generator or producerwhen the same is at work, and K is an opening through which thegenerator or producer can be cleaned out when necessary. This opening iskept normally closed by a retort-lid P or other suitable air-tight door.

Instead of using a belt 13, I sometimes, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6,connect the lower end of the downtake pipe or conduit D and branch pipe13 by a conical casing B to an opening or passage L, which leads thesteam and the volatile compounds from the upper part of the generatorinto the fuel at a point just above the zone of combustion.-

. It will noW be understood that, assuming the fuel at the lower part Mof the generator or producer to be in a state of combustion and that atthe part II to be in a state of incandeseence and that the green fuel atthe upper part is comparatively cool, but kept hot enough by thetransmission of heat from the incandescent fuel below to giveoffvolatile hydrocarbon compounds, these latter will be drawn away throughthe pipe or conduit D by the steam-jet E and delivered along with thesteam into the incandescent fuel at the part H of the generatororproducer just above the zone of combustion. These volatile hydrocarboncompounds and the steam are decomposed by the said incandescent fuel andpass off along with the carbonic oxid produced by the combustion of thefuel at the lower part of the furnace through the outlet G.

The distance between the openings 0, through which the steam andhydrocarbon vapors are admitted to the generator, and the outlet G,provided for conveying the gas to the holder or to the point where it isto be employed, may vary. The less this distance is the freer will thegaseous products escaping from the outlet G be from tar and condensableproducts. I have obtained very satisfactory results with a producerhaving a height of about twelve feet from the floorlevel to the top ofthe fuel-chamber and an internal diameter of about two feet, the inletor inlets O or L being about three feet above the grate A, the outlet Gabout eight feet above the grate, the pressure of the air supplied tothe ash-pit being about equal to seven or eight inches of water, and thepressure of steam admitted by the nozzle E being about seventy poundsper inch. With this data about one hundred and eighty pounds of coal canbe bprned per hour, yielding about thirteen thousand cubic feet of gashaving a high calorific power.

The feeding of the fuel may be effected by hand or by any suitableautomatically-acting apparatus, and where automatic apparatus is notemployed the clinkering and pokering may be effected as in othergenerators or producers.

By carrying out the process as above described it is possible to utilizethe heat produced by the initial combustion of a given weight of fuel,first, for the production of carbonic oxid, and, secondly, for thedecomposition of the greatest possible volume of steam and the fixing ofall the volatile hydrocarbons, whereby a compound containing thesmallest percentage of diluent nitrogen with a high percentage ofcarbonic oxid, hydrogen, and the lighter hydrocarbons is obtained, thevolatile hydrocarbons being made to enrich what would be under ordinarycircumstances only common producer-gas. Also the process enables cheapbituminous qualities of coal to be economically and advantageouslyconverted into combustible gas in gas-producer's in lieu of the moreexpensive anthracite and hard qualities of coal which it has heretoforebeen necessary to use, and not only so, but enables a gas having ahigher calorific power to be obtained than can be obtained in the usualway from such expensive fuels.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to introduce volatilecompounds generated at the upper part of a gas-producer, with or withoutsteam, into the ash-pit or into the zone of combustion; but suchprocess, which I do not claim, differs essentially from mine, inasmuchas the resulting gas is alto gether of a different and inferior qualityto that obtained by my process.

hat I claim is- 1. A gas-producer having an inlet for air onl y at itslower end so as to produce a zone of combustion only at the lower partof said producer, an inlet arranged to deliver hydrocarbon into saidproducer at a point above the zone of combustion produced by the airadmitted to said producer through said inlet, means for injectinghydrocarbdu through said inlet, and a gas-outlet arranged at a pointsome distance below the top of the producer and the normal level of themass of fuel therein, substantially as herein described for the purposespecified.

2. A gas-producer having an outlet at its upper end for exit of volatilematter and products of distillation from the green fuel admitted to saidproducer, an air-inlet at its lower end only so as to produce a zone ofcombustion only at the lower part of said producer, one or more inletsarranged to admit hydrocarbons to the interior of the producer at apoint above the zone of combustion pro duced by the air admitted by saidair-inlet, means for inducing hydrocarbon vapors to flow from saidoutlet at the top of said producer to said inlet for hydrocarbon, and agasontlet arranged,between th e latter inlet and the outlet at the topof said producer, substantially as described for the purpose specified.

3. A gas-producer having an outlet at its upper end for exit of volatilematter and products of distillation from the green fuel admitted to saidproducer, an air-inlet at its lower end only so as to produce a zone ofcombustion only at the lower part of the said producer, one or moreinlets arranged to admit hydrocarbons to the interior of the producer ata point above the zone of combustion produced by air, steam-jetapparatus adapted to withdraw hydrocarbon vapors from the top of saidgenerator and. force them together with steam through said inlet forhydrocarbons, and a gas-outlet arranged between the latter inlet and theoutlet at the top of said producer and below the top of the mass of fueltherein, substantially as described for the purpose specified.

4. A gas-producer comprising the vertical fuel-receptacle having anair-inlet I only at the bottom, the vapor-outlet at the top, the vaporinlet or inlets arranged to admit hydrocarbon to the interior of theproducer at a point above the zone of combustion produced by air, theconduit D connecting said vaporoutlet with said vapor inlet or inlets,the steam-nozzle E for inducing vapors to flow from the top of saidgenerator to said vapor inlet or inlets, and the gas-outlet G, locatedbetween said vapor outlet and inlet or inlets, substantially asdescribed for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES WHITFIELD.

Witnesses:

- A. M. TRoUP,

W. MAY.

